Granulated Sugar

Sweet as they may be, what do we really know about sugars? Sugar is the general term for sweet or soluble carbohydrate. It is necessity in our diet no matter whether taken in large or small quantities, it provides energy.

Ever wonder what reaction or mechanism that occurs behind closed doors when you consume sugar?

What is sugar?

Granulated sugars are carbohydrates mainly composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Sugars are mainly used in many types of foods. It comes in many forms such as carbohydrates a large complex molecule of sugar to glucose, fructose and galactose the simplest for of sugars. Granulated sugar is commonly used in the food industry. It is a form of sucrose and is called many other names such as table sugar, cane sugar and beet sugar.

What does it consist of?

Table sugars are a type of sucrose, therefore, the bond for this compound is a glycosidic bond ( that bond together the fructose and glucose monomers in a sucrose polymer. The chemical formula for this compound is C₁₂H₂₂O_11. 

It is a covalent bond because sucrose is made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

an example of a sucrose molecule

Glycosidic bond

A glycosidic bond is a type of covalent bond that joins a carbohydrate(sugar) molecule to another group, which may or may not be another carbohydrate. is formed between the hemiacetal group of a saccharide and the hydroxyl group of some organic compound such as an alcohol.

Where does it come from?

Sugar is a naturally-occurring compound that can be found in most plant and animal cells. Most fruits, for instance, have very high sugar concentrations, which is one of the reasons that they taste so sweet. A process known as “refinement,” is the most important process to form granulated sugar.

Refining Process

Making table sugar is a multi-step process. There are many steps in the process of making this sugar. One of the important steps are Refining which begins by isolating the sugar crystals in the beet or cane, usually through diffusion. During diffusion, the sugar source is soaked in water, ground or pulverized to expose its inner cells, then left to evaporate, often over mesh sieves or fine cloth where the crystals can be collected. At this stage, the crystals are usually light brown or tan in color.

Pros and Cons

Sugars have clearly many advantages as its disadvantages. It is a natural carbon compound. It goes through less processes compared to artificial sweetener and has more nutrients. Not only does it increase your calories it provides you with the energy you need. Just because sugar’s reputation is being upheld, don’t be too quick to start adding sugar into your diet thinking it’s somehow good for you. There are still far superior forms of sugar in the form of carbohydrate out there to be putting into your body, such as oatmeal, whole grain breads, brown rice, sweet potatoes, fruits, and vegetables. Sugar is a tempting but hazardous ingredient if you over use it. It also causes various and many health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

The main question that has been going through your mind is how does the reaction or mechanism occur in our body system

There are two different categories of the sugars we consume in the foods we eat – those being simple sugars and complex sugars. A type of simple sugar would be the granulated sugar we use as an additive or ingredient, while other foods like rice and bread contain complex sugars or carbohydrate.

When a carbohydrate is ingested, it will be converted into a simple sugar before it can be used as an energy source. This begins in the mouth when the complex sugar molecules such as starch start to be broken down by salivary amylase.

 Starch + water = maltose 

It is then broken down further by the pancreatic amylase in the process of hydrolysis in the small intestine 

Maltose + water = glucose + glucose

When sugars arrive at the individual cells, they are eventually converted into water and carbon dioxide. This is the result of several complex chemical reactions that take place as the energy of the sugar is utilized and released by the cell.

(glucose)C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ ——> 6CO₂ + 6H₂O + 2830 kJ / mol 

Sugar is composed of oxygen, hydrogen and carbon molecules which are bonded together by chemicals. Simple sugars are known to contain around two-dozen bonds holding the elements together. When each of these bonds is broken in the cell, the energy released by the breaking of the bond is then used by the body.

(sucrose)C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁ = 2C₆H₁₂O₆ +  H₂O

And in addition to utilizing the energy released right away, the cell also has the ability to reserve some of the energy to be used later. 

The body interprets and handles all types of sugar in basically the same way. The resulting simple sugar goes into the bloodstream. The pancreas then releases a hormone called insulin that is necessary to move the sugar from the blood into the cells where it can be used for energy. Without the proper amount of insulin, if there is too much sugar for the body to process, the sugar stays in the bloodstream and causes damage to the heart, nerves and kidneys. 

Not to worry there's always a solution to help reduce the risk

Carbohydrates come in many forms, and most foods have some carbohydrate in. All carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugar by the body anyhow. It takes longer for the body to turn some carbohydrates into simple sugar. Thus, the pancreas is not required to release as much insulin as soon, which is better for the body.

If you eat complex carbohydrates or those paired with fiber, fats or protein, you give your body more of a chance to deal with the sugar more gradually. Whole grain breads, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat and amaranth are the healthiest forms of foods in the grain group. Beans, whole fruits and whole vegetables are also healthy forms of carbohydrates.

''I would like to dedicate this project to my dear lecturer Miss Alice Puah for giving me this privilege to write this post for our group assignment.''

~ Samuel ~

Flavorings in Food

The world is full of different races and cultures and food is one of the thing that unites the world. Food has it's own unique way to spice up someone's life. Malaysians , especially , loves food at a maximum level. The love and passion for food is too extreme , that a person is willing to travel and spend a lot just to have a taste on those wonderful foods. Last weekend , I went to an International Buffet that presents food from all over the world. The taste and flavors of every food impressed me with their different way and taste. This made me think on how flavors of food can spice up a person's taste and tongue. After doing thousands of research , it has something to do with organic compounds reacting with our taste buds.

An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. A  few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon , and cyanides are considered inorganic. Natural compounds refer to those that are produced by plants or animals. Many of these are still extracted from natural sources because they would be far too expensive to produce artificially. Examples include most sugars, certain nutrients such as vitamin B₁₂ , and, in general, those natural products with large complicated molecules present in reasonable concentrations in living organisms. Further compounds of main importance are antigens, carbohydrates, enzymes, hormones, lipids and fatty acids, neurotransmitters, nucleic acids, proteins, peptides and amino acids, lectins, vitamins, and fats and oils that are mostly used in cooking and flavoring industries.

Taste is one of the five traditional senses that most living beings have. Taste is the sensation produced when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with receptors of taste buds. Taste , along with smell determines the flavors of foods and other substances. The taste buds that are present on the tongue is able to differentiate among different tastes by detecting interactions with different molecules or ions. The five basic tastes are sweetness , bitterness , saltiness , sourness and umami ( savory ).

Example of Flavorings 

Many of the processed foods that you buy today come with an ingredient label that lists "artificial flavors" as one of the key ingredients. Artificial flavors are simply chemical mixtures that mimic a natural flavor in some way. Any natural flavor is normally quite complex, with dozens or hundreds of chemicals interacting to create the taste and smell. But it turns out that many flavors , particularly fruit flavors , have just one or a few dominant chemical components that carry the bulk . Many of these chemicals are called Esters. For example, the ester called Octyl Acetate (CH3COOC8H17) is a fundamental component in orange flavor. The ester called isoamyl acetate (CH3COOC5H11) is a fundamental component of banana flavor.

 If you add these esters to a product, the product will taste, to some degree, like orange or banana. To make more realistic flavors , other chemicals are added in the correct proportions to get closer and closer to the real thing. It is done by trial and error or by chemical analysis of the real thing. There are hundreds of chemicals known to be flavoring agents. It's interesting that they are normally mixed to create "known" tastes. People make artificial grape, cherry, orange, banana, apple , etc. flavors, but it is very rare to mix up something that no one has ever tasted before. Artificial flavors are hard to be differentiated from natural flavorings unless stated on the prescription.

Example of a labeling of artificial flavor

Flavorings is one the most essential ingredients in food , as it brings up a flavor to bring joy to the food taster or eater. Without natural or artificial flavorings , foods wouldn't be an important element of a person's life , especially Malaysians and food critics , even me.

"We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons '' - Alfred Newman.

- Errick - 

Gasoline: How Does It Power My Car?

Gasoline, main fuel to power automobiles.

Gasoline, or commonly known as petrol, is the main fuel that use to power automobiles. 


Ever wonder how gasoline, which is mainly made up of hydrocarbons could power and move a huge car? Find out more here.

What is gasoline? What does it consist of?

Gasoline consists of a complex mixture of 500 hydrocarbons and is known as an aliphatic hydrocarbon. In other words, gasoline is made up of molecules composed of nothing but hydrogen and carbon arranged in chains. Most of the gasoline are hydrocarbons that may have 5 to 12 carbons. Smaller amount of alkane cyclic and aromatic compounds are present. Virtually, there are no alkenes or alkynes can be found in gasoline.   

The typical composition of gasoline:

 


  

Typical
  Composition of Gasoline

 

  

 General
  Name

  

 Examples

  

 Percentage

 

  

Aliphatic - straight chain

  

 heptane

  

 30-50

 

  

Aliphatic - branched

  

 isooctane

 

  

Aliphatic - cyclic

  

 cyclopentane

  

 20-30

 

  

Aromatic

  

 ethyl
  benzene

  

 20-30

 

Where does gasoline come from?

Gasoline is made from crude oil. The crude oil pumped out of the ground is a black liquid called petroleum. This liquid contains hydrocarbons, and the carbon atoms in crude oil link together in chains of different lengths. Hydrocarbon molecules of different lengths have different properties and behaviors. For example, a chain with just one carbon atom in it (CH4) is the lightest chain, known as methane. Methane is a gas so light that it floats like helium. As the chains get longer, they get heavier. 

An oil refinery plant.

The different chain lengths have progressively higher boiling points, and therefore they can be separated out by distillation. 

This is what happens in an oil refinery -- crude oil is heated and the different chains are pulled out by their vaporization temperatures. 

Naphthas, gasoline, kerosene, diesel, lubricating oils, paraffin wax are examples of different substances come from crude oil. The only difference is the length of the carbon chains!

How to increase the yield of gasoline?

The yield of gasoline is favored by converting higher or lower boiling point fractions into hydrocarbons in the gasoline range.  Two of the main processes used to perform this conversion: 

Cracking 

In cracking, high molecular weight fractions and catalysts are heated to the point where the carbon-carbon bonds break. Products of the reaction include alkenes and alkanes of lower molecular weight than were present in the original fraction. The alkanes from the cracking reaction are added to the straight-run gasoline to increase the gasoline yield from the crude oil. An example of a cracking reaction is:

alkane C13H28 (l) → alkane C8H18 (l) + alkene C2H4(g) + alkene C3H6 (g) 

Isomerization 

In the isomerization process, straight chain alkanes are converted into branched chainisomers, which burn more efficiently. For example, pentane and a catalyst may react to yield 2-methylbutane and 2,2-dimethylpropane. Also, some isomerization occurs during the cracking process, which increases the gasoline quality.


Octane Number?

I guess you have come across with this term when purchasing fuel. 
What is octane number refer to?

The octane number of gasoline is a measure of its resistance to 'knock'. 'Knock' refers to the detonation in engine of a car. Generally, octane number is determined by comparing the characteristics of a gasoline to isooctane (2,2,4-trimethylpentane) and heptane. Isooctane is assigned an octane number of 100. It is a highly branched compound that burns smoothly, with little knock. On the other hand, heptane, a straight chain, unbranched molecule is given an octane rating of zero because of its bad knocking properties.

Octane rating versus type of compound:

Octane ratings decrease with increasing carbon chain length.

Octane ratings increase with carbon chain branching.

Octane ratings increase in aromatics with same number of carbons.


So I suppose you have this question in mind: 

Which octane gasoline is suitable and should you purchase to run your car? 

Generally, for most of the automobiles, a lowest grade of 87 octane is sufficient to power and move the engine, unless the automobile is specifically said to use a higher octane gasoline. Also, keep in mind that using higher octane grades does not provide any extra power or extra mileage! Spend your money wisely! :)

______________________________________________________________________

After the reading, you will sure have some ideas on what is gasoline about, how do we obtain it as well as information associated when purchasing gasoline. Well, let's get back to the main question. How does gasoline power my car? 

A gasoline engine uses internal combustion to generate power. Pistons in the engine compress air mixed with fuel, which ignites and creates the energy that powers your car. The amount of power your car's engine can produce is determined by how much gasoline and air are igniting within your engine. By stepping on the gas pedal, which opens the valves that let the air and gasoline in, you are actually regulating how much gasoline and air are igniting within your engine, then, your car is ready to move!